St John’s, Antigua – Seventeen players from the recent West Indies Women’s Emerging Players High-Performance camp are now accredited cricket coaches after successfully completing both the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Foundation Coaching and CWI Competition Coaching (Level 1) accreditation courses.
The players completed the coaching qualifications at Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) on the March 26 and 27 while in Antigua for the Emerging Players High-Performance Camp from March 13 to April 2, boosting the number of female Level 1 coaches in the Caribbean.
The High-Performance Camp was geared towards players aged 25 and under as part of the ongoing strategy to develop the pool of talent across the region. The coaching courses were part of the camp activities which included holistic support across technical, tactical, physical, mental and personal development areas.
The 17 women’s players now have the skills and understanding to be able to take on coaching sessions with junior players in their communities and across the region, which in turn increases the chances of developing more junior talent in the region.
CWI Coach Development Manager, Chris Brabazon and CWI Talent Pathway Manager, Steve Liburd guided the players through course and the subsequent assessments as part of the two-week High-Performance camp.
“We need more female role models in our cricket ecosystems across the region and the courses provide these young players with the confidence to be able to lead cricket sessions at their clubs and within their communities and will help to inspire and encourage future generations of players. It also provides the players with a greater understanding and appreciation of the role of a coach and hopefully we may have planted a seed for them to consider becoming a professional coach one day,” Brabazon stated.
The continuous High-Performance camp continues CWI’s increased investment into the women’s game and forms part of the overall High-Performance Pathway. CWI’s strategic plan has committed additional resources into developing the women’s cricket at every level. This High-Performance Camp at CCG played a vital role in developing the talent pool and producing the next generation of West Indies Women’s players.
Accredited Level 1 Coaches: Earnisha Fontaine, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannilea Glasgow, Sheneta Grimmond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenba Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Abini St Jean, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Kaysia Schultz, Steffie Soogrim, Kate Wilmott.
Emerging players as coaches? Is this a serious accreditation and who did the assessment?